Marriage Licenses are issued from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday except for legal holidays, at the Lafayette Parish Courthouse located at 800 South Buchanan Street, Lafayette, La 70501.
Your marriage license is one of the most important documents you will purchase during your lifetime. It establishes the legal validity of your marriage.
The license must be purchased at least 24 hours prior to the ceremony. It expires 30 days from the date of issuance. The license is only valid for ceremonies performed in the State of Louisiana.
Pursuant to applicable Louisiana Statutes, only one party is required to come in to purchase the marriage license. The applying party must provide items 1 through 4 for BOTH PARTIES.
1. Proof of Birth (one of the following must be presented):
- Certified Birth Certificate
- Certified Birth Card
- Certified Birth Registration
- Certified Certificate of Birth Abroad
- Certified Certificate of Naturalization
- Letter of No Record of Birth from Vital Records
- Waiver from a Judge or Justice of the Peace
Louisiana birth records are available in our office. See link to the right for more information.
In addition, a photocopy of the birth record must be retained by the Clerk of Court. You may provide the photocopy. If one is not provided, the copy fee is $1.00 per page.
2. Social Security Numbers
Social Security numbers must be provided or a statement by the applicable party that no social security number has been issued to him as required by R.S. 9:224. The statement of no social security number form is available in our office or online by clicking HERE.
3. Prior Marriages/Documentation
If you were previously married, you will have to provide the date of your most recent spouses' death or the date the final divorce judgment was signed. It is recommended that you bring a copy of these documents to guarantee accuracy.
4. Fees
The marriage license fee is $27.50 plus $4.00 per page for each attachment, which includes waivers, statements of no social security number and parental consent forms payable in cash or credit/debit card.
A certified copy of the marriage license is $10.00. If the fee is paid when the marriage license is purchased, you will receive the certified copy by mail once the legal document has been recorded.
Age Requirements
To purchase a marriage license, you must be of the age of majority, which is 18 years old. A marriage license cannot be issued to a minor under the age of 16. A minor 16 or 17 years of age may not marry a person of the age of majority where there is an age difference of three years or greater between them. If a minor is 16 or 17 years of age, both the father and mother of the minor, or the person having legal custody of the minor, or the tutor of the minor must be present with identification to sign a consent waiver. In addition to the parental consent requirement, a judicial authorization signed by a Judge is required before a marriage license can be issued.
Relationship
State law (CC Art. 90) prohibits the marriage of persons who are related by blood or adoption with the fourth degree collateral.
Blood tests are no longer required.
For any other questions, please call the Marriage Department at 337-291-6335.
Covenant Marriage Act
Contracting a Covenant Marriage
The
couple who chooses to enter into a Covenant Marriage agrees to be bound by two serious
limitations on obtaining a divorce or separation. These limitations do not apply to other
couples married in Louisiana:
- The
couple legally agrees to seek marital counseling if problems develop during the marriage;
and
- The
couple can only seek a divorce or legal separation for limited reasons, as explained
herein.
DECLARATION OF INTENT
In order
to enter into a Covenant Marriage, the couple must sign a recitation that provides:
- A
marriage is an agreement to live together as husband and wife forever;
- The
parties have chosen each other carefully and disclosed to each other "everything
which could adversely affect" the decision to marry;
- The
parties have received premarital counseling;
- A
commitment that if the parties experience marital difficulties they commit to take all
reasonable efforts to preserve their marriage, including marital counseling; and
- The
couple must also obtain premarital counseling from a priest, minister, rabbi or similar
clergyman of any religious sect, or a professional marriage counselor.
After
discussing the meaning of a Covenant Marriage with the counselor, the couple must also
sign, together with an attestation by the counselor, a notarized affidavit to the effect
that the counselor has discussed with them:
- The
seriousness of a Covenant Marriage;
- That the
commitment to the marriage is for life;
- The
obligation of the couple to seek marital counseling if problems arise in their marriage;
and
- That they
have received the informational pamphlet published by the Attorney General entitled
"Covenant Marriage Act."
The two
documents which comprise the Declaration of Intent - the recitation and the affidavit with
attestation - must be presented to the official who issues the marriage license with the
couple's application for a marriage license.
The Declaration of Intent can be downloaded by clicking HERE.
LEGAL SEPARATION IN A COVENANT MARRIAGE
In order
to obtain a legal separation (which is not a divorce and therefore does not end the
marriage), a spouse to a Covenant Marriage must first obtain counseling and then must
prove:
- Adultery
by the other spouse;
- Commission
of a felony by the other spouse and a sentence of imprisonment at hard labor or death;
- Abandonment
by the other spouse for one year;
- Physical
or sexual abuse of the spouse or of a child of either spouse;
- The
spouses have lived separate and apart for two years; or
- Habitual
intemperance (for example, alcohol or drug abuse), cruel treatment, or severe ill
treatment by the other spouse.
DIVORCE IN A COVENANT MARRIAGE
A
marriage that is not a Covenant Marriage may be ended by divorce more easily than that of a
Covenant Marriage . In a marriage that is not a Covenant Marriage, a spouse may get a
divorce for adultery by the other spouse, conviction of a felony by the other spouse and
his imprisonment at hard labor or death, or by proof that the spouses have lived separate
and apart for six months before or after filing for divorce. In a Covenant Marriage a
spouse may get a divorce only after receiving counseling and may only get a
divorce for the following reason:
- Adultery
by the other spouse;
- Commission
of a felony by the other spouse and sentence of imprisonment at hard labor or death;
- Abandonment
by the other spouse for one year;
- Physical
or sexual abuse of the spouse or of a child of either spouse;
- The
spouses have lived separate and apart for two years; or the spouses are judicially or
legally separated and have lived separate and apart since the legal separation for;
- (a) one
year and six months if there is a minor child or children of the marriage;
- (b) one
year if the separation was granted for abuse of a child of either spouse;
- (c) one
year in all other cases.
A NOTE TO PRESENTLY MARRIED COUPLES
Couples
who are already married may execute a declaration of intent to designate their marriage a
Covenant Marriage. They must sign a recitation and affidavit similar to those described in
the aforementioned pamphlet, after receiving counseling. The counselor must attest to the counseling.
This intent to designate their marriage a Covenant Marriage must be filed with the
official who issued their marriage license and with whom the marriage certificate of the
couple is filed. If the couple was married outside of Louisiana, a copy of their marriage
certificate, with the declaration of intent, shall be filed with the officer who issues
marriage licenses in the parish of the couples domicile.
A convenience fee of 3.00% will be assessed to each credit/debit card transaction. There is a minimum convenience fee of $1.00 for all transactions under $33.00.
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